Tripping on Destiny
by Vixxen
Summary: This was a challenge from one of my Shipper lists. I decided to take it up. You'll see what happens with the characters...especially since after Angel turned evil, Buffy never killed him, so he stayed evil. Plus, they like to torture eachother.
1. Default Chapter

Tripping On Destiny Part One: Just Another Lover's Spat?  
  
With a grunt, Buffy Summers jabbed her elbow in the shadow's side, jolting him from his position behind a small grove of trees. She found him. "Boo," The Slayer whispered, aiming a swift kick at his knee, calculated perfectly to knock him off his feet. Only, with lightning- fast reflexes, he twisted around and grabbed her leg, causing her to fall instead. "Scary." The figure grunted, dropping down to pin her arms and legs, preventing any protest or movement. "But we've been here before, lover, remember?" Releasing one of her arms, he trailed a finger down the length of her free arm, grinning coldly. His dead heart felt nothing for the Slayer, but reveled in torturing, confusing, annoying and possibly someday soon.killing her. "Yeah? Well let's not repeat our mistakes." Her arm snapped up, her fist meeting his face with a crunch. As he reeled back, she rolled to the side, regaining her stance in the blink of an eye. "Let's try this again, Angelus." Her head tilted to the side, eyes glued to him as he stood and pressed four fingers to his head to stop the spinning. "I'm not your vampire whore." The Slayer paused, building up her anger, reading to lash out and-not for the first time this week-let him have it. "So just give up on the cutesy names, we both--" At the moment she was about to break out the wickedest comment of them all, she was shoved aside by a butt-ugly demon that even The Master couldn't beat. It was green, disgusting, and sported a red gem right in the middle of its forehead, giving him the appearance of a deranged Cyclops. "Morah demon." Angelus grunted, even as the thing tackled him fiercely. With a few swift punches, he had the thing off of him, and brushed off his black duster, giving Buffy an impish look. She returned it with a glare, moving in on the downed demon swiftly. "Your point?" She mused, giving the thing a sharp kick. Then, completely unexpected, the Morah demon reared upward with a roar, raking a claw at Buffy and opened his mouth to foul the air and snarl at Angelus. Both were amused. Angelus grabbed the Slayer's arm, pulling her over to the side. "I'll bet you can't take it down. And that I'll get to our funny farm friend first." "Oh?" His opponent raised an eyebrow, only just warming up. "I accept. But raise you. whomever fails to capture Mister Ugly first has to be the other's slave. For a day." In his mind, Angelus knew that there was a fair chance that Buffy would get there first and that he would end up in women's clothing, or in chains. But he was willing to risk that, because there was also a fair chance that Buffy would lose and he would have her locked up in chains. And the thought made him grin. "Good." Buffy nodded, accepting what this virtually meant. She might lose her freedom to a monster that held no boundaries and would likely kill her. And in some way, it made adrenaline run through her veins. She liked that. "Time to go, then." Giving him a sharp kick below the knee, she sped off to the right after the fleeing demon. And Angelus followed, off to the left. Hours went by, with searching in and out of the dingy crypts and dirty gravesites, throughout all of the cemeteries in Sunnydale, and yet the Slayer found nothing. Frustrated, she tucked her stakes away and decided to call it a night. Ducking her blonde head under the trees, now sporting this month's hair, she made her way along the headstones. Meanwhile, on the other side of that very graveyard, Angelus struck his fist up against the Morah demon's own, trying to weasel his way out of this one. Well, he'd caught it, now the only problem was staying alive. Because he sure as hell had the bounty, and wanted the reward. Her. Seconds later, the Morah demon lost it's fighting chance. Angelus, in full game face, slashed the thing across the chest with a dagger. Dragging the enraged monster down, he winced as it managed to slash him on the arm. Shoving it down, he smacked it across the face a few times, his elbow pressing into it's abdomen. Then Angelus felt a sharp pang in his dead heart, and fell to the ground. The Morah's blood glowed green on Angelus' open wound, and as Angelus' dead heart began to slowly beat, the wounded demon slunk off into the darkness. And the monster formerly known as Angelus screamed. 


	2. Changes

Part Two: Changes.  
  
{ "There is nothing fair in this world  
  
There is nothing safe in this world  
  
And there's nothing sure in this world  
  
And there's nothing pure in this world  
  
Look for something left in this world  
  
Start again come on." }  
  
Driven only by madness and exhaustion, he ran. All the. it hurt so much to feel. Each breath was a knife; each heartbeat was a bullet in his veins. Oh god, he never knew that it could hurt this much.where was Buffy? The last thing he remembered was her-tasting her, knowing her, being part of her. and now she was gone. What had happened? What was he, no longer a monster.?  
  
Through the haze, through the tangled web of questions, he managed to find his way to her. Safe in her arms, that's what he needed. So just a knock on her door. was she there? God, please let her be there. Another knock. Another heartbeat. Pain. And no Buffy. He wanted to die.  
  
{ "Hey little sister what have you done?  
  
Hey little sister who's the only one?  
  
Hey little sister who's your superman?  
  
Hey little sister who's the one you want?  
  
Hey little sister shotgun..." }  
  
  
  
Buffy was not happy. Lounging against the table, her head rested on the formica top and her hand wrapped around a beer, the frothy liquid her only comfort, and she wasn't the same girl she'd been hours earlier. "Speaking of, why in the name of cheese fries is our formerly bubbly slayer looking so very miserable on such a lovely night?" Xander mumbled, echoing everyone's concerns. Ever since Buffy had arrived, bloody and bruised, from her nightly patrol, she hadn't been the same. She was unimaginably angry, and refused any sort of help the Scoobs were willing to give. Blowing off studying for a psych final she had the next day, she whisked off to the Bronze-decked out in black leather and silver crosses. And now it was only Dawn, Xander and Cordelia.the only three people here who bothered with her. The latter was twisting a piece of chestnut hair between her fingers and absently wondering what was wrong with the mildly drunken blonde beside her. The formers just stared in shock, unable to comprehend another 'beer bad' Buffy. "What's going on?" A friendly voice intercepted the beginning of a protest from Dawn, the teenager shutting her mouth. Everyone turned to glance at Riley Finn, a 'pledge' so to say, of the Scoobs. Except minus the ritual hazing part of it, unless Xander could cook up something inventive and humane. Riley grinned a bit, and touched Buffy's arm in greeting. Buffy jerked away from him, almost.yes.just barely growling at him under her breath. Riley started, backing away from the malicious Slayer to take a seat at the table. Across from him, Xander offered him an apologetic look. Dawn Summers sighed, utterly fed up with her older sister's act. "Okay, Buffy, the game is over. What's wrong, and this time you know you cannot chalk it up to a bad day at work." The fifteen year old punctuated her statement by crossing her arms, sending a stern look in Buffy's direction. "Actually.it does have a lot to do with a bad day at work, Dawn. Why doesn't Cordelia take you back home so you can finish all the work you've lately been failing at? Or is it just another ploy to get back at me?" Dawn sputtered, shocked. The faces of the people around the table mirrored her expression. "Buffy," Cordelia began, calming Dawn down by grabbing her hand. "Just because you feel like nominating yourself in the Queen Bitch competition doesn't mean that the rest of us feel like tagging along." Queen C shot a look that wilted flowers at Buffy. Coldly, Buffy returned the look, the two females engaging in a staring contest until Xander loudly interjected. "Okay! Feeling the heat here, and not enjoying much." Buffy's eyes flicked to Xander. "Stay out of this, Xander." "No!" he replied. "If you're going to beat up somebody, choose me." He was serious, and he never wavered. "I can deal with that," The suddenly calm Slayer replied, as she jump-kicked Xander, and then dashed out of the Bronze into the rain. 


	3. Beating

// When you look at me  
  
My facsimile  
  
Smiles and stolen sugar eyes  
  
But you fail to read  
  
Into disbelief  
  
Frozen firmly to the lies //  
  
What had she done? Mute, and oblivious to the guilt she felt inside, Buffy ran down the streets, trying to forget. She'd lied to her friends, to all of them, just by being there. She didn't tell them about the bet. About what had happened at the graveyard. She felt dirty for hitting Xander, and for screaming at the people she cared about the most. Her feet carried her swiftly to the only place she knew that she'd be safe-home. She almost stumbled up the steps, fumbling with the keys that she held in her hands. Suddenly.. "What?" Buffy mumbled, seeing a dark something curled up on her doorstep. She leaned down to pull away what seemed to be a black duster, and revealed a face that had haunted her dreams since the moment she saw him. Her eyes narrowed, and she stepped back, reeling over the fact that what had previously bet her earlier was lying in front of her door like a faithful dog. She jabbed a foot into his side, frowning when he didn't move. Again, she kicked him, and this time he awoke, a confused look on his face. Angel stood, and glanced down at the ground. "Buffy" She tilted her head to the side, a cruel look on her face. "Angelus. Thought you wouldn't show. Come to brag?" She opened the door, making sure it hit him in the back. Angel fell forwards, landing on the ground with a groan. Buffy turned, glancing at him. "What the hell is wrong with you? Not that I care, but beating you up is less fun when you're not fighting back." Angel just moaned again, rolling over to look up at her. When Buffy returned his gaze, she saw pain. She saw confusion. And she knew these were not the eyes of a monster.  
  
// flowing nicotine  
  
nutrient caffeine  
  
alarming changes in discreet  
  
picking up your gun  
  
shoot them one by one  
  
trading oxygen for heat//  
  
Buffy moved closer, trying to figure everything out. "Angelus?" She murmured. Angel stirred, and sat up, glancing at her again. "My name's not Angelus.." He whispered with difficulty. Angel didn't know why Buffy was acting like this. What had he done? Why was she referring to him as Angelus? She'd never..before, and god this was so strange. "You know my name is Angel, Buffy." "Your name was Angel." Buffy countered. "I'm not him." Angel insisted. "Please, Buffy.." Buffy peered at him again. Something was wrong. Something was different. So, she mustered all her Slayer strength, and punched him. He went flying backwards into a bush, and stayed there. Buffy's eyes widened. "ANGEL!" She yelled. She jumped off her porch, and raced over to Angel. "Oh my god.I'm sorry!" She squeaked, trying to revive him. He opened his eyes and groggily looked up at her. "Where am I?" He mumbled, as the sun began to rise. Buffy glanced at the horizon and cursed, trying to drag him into her house. "Angel, it's me.Buffy." He tried to shake her off, but she wouldn't let him. "No, Angel. No. I have to get you fixed up." Angel twisted out of her grip, and then sat there shaking. Buffy reached out to touch him, and he suddenly clung to her. "Angel, please." "No. Can't leave. Need you." He mumbled. "Angel, the sun." He still didn't move. Then as the light inched towards him, she tried to move him back a few feet. To protect him. But he wouldn't move, his body was like dead weight. Beginning to panic, she tugged him quickly, making little animal noises as she tried. And then the sunlight touched him. But he didn't burn. 


End file.
